No there is not a prize awarded for the correct answer...LOL So here it is; If you look at Series 1928 Small Size Fed Reserve Notes (all districts) you will see "Numerals" in place of Letter's for Fed Bank assignments. This Holds true into Series 1928A except for the $50 and $100 notes from that Series. Do you know why? RickieB
The 1928A face plates for $50 and $100 notes were made after the change from numeral to letter district seals. They are essentially the counterpart to the 1928B plates of the lower denominations.
That is the answer I was looking for!! So with that being the case, what are the Plate differences betweeen the 1928A and 1928 Series $50 and $100 notes other than the Numeral? Are there Plate numbers for both Series that overlap for the $50 and $100...what other differences if any exist on these 2 denoms. What about the possibility that they decided to discontinue the numerals and they started with the high denoms/smaller print runs to make sure there were no problems with the design change? There is not a whole lot of info on this topic ya know?? RickieB
None of my books give a reason...they just state that the change occurred (annoying). The only thing I can think of is that there never was a 1928B or C for the $50 or $100. The next change made was the start of the 1934 series (unlike the smaller denominations). So, I would say that the plates were for the $50 and $100 were made after the smaller 1928A series notes and that change was incorporated into it. This is the same reason we see 2 seal colors in the 1928A $50 and $100 notes...unlike the smaller denominations. Simply put, the large denomination notes were printed later. Edit: looks like I was a little bit late on the trigger for this one.
There are no Series of 1928B $50 and $100 plates. The only difference between 1928A and 1928B faces is the district seal; both have Woods-Mellon signatures. They never made a lot of early $50 and $100 notes relative to smaller denominations, and therefore did not make many plates, or simply reserved making them until after they made $5s, $10s and $20s. By the time they made Series of 1928A plates for $50s and $100s, the decision had been made to change the district seal from a numeral to a letter. So these were made as 1928A letter plates. Series of 1928A plates had already been made for the smaller denominations because the signature change predated the seal change, and these carried the numeral seal. In order to make these uniform, they made Series of 1928B faces with the letter seal. The face plate serials are individual sequences for each 1928 series.
A synopsis: 1. Series of 1928 plates with Tate-Mellon signatures and numeral seals are made for $5s-$100s. 2. Woods takes office, and new Series of 1928A plates with Woods-Mellon signatures and numeral seals are made for $5s, $10s, and $20s. Woods-Mellon faces for $50s and $100s are not needed yet. 3. Decision is made to change the numeral in the district seal to a letter. 4. Series of 1928A plates with Woods-Mellon signatures and the new letter seal are made for $50s and $100s. 5. Series of 1928B faces with Woods-Mellons signatures are made to incorporate the letter seal into faces for $5s, $10s, and $20s. Peter Huntoon had an article in BNR a few year ago about these changes. I will try to find the reference.
Thanks Jamie... Appreciate the clarification on this. If you do find the Article, please let me know, I sure would like a copy of that thing. RickieB
This I know from my books...but thanks anyway.. SO only the Sigs are really different on the 2 series... So the Series 1928B, C and D $5, $10, and $20 had to be released just before the Gold recall....and no new $50 and $100 were made until 1934 RickieB
I remember reading that the Federal Reserve District seal changed from a number to a letter because it was easy for people to confuse the district number with the denomination.
